Born in Japan, Swiss artist David Favrod creates photographs, drawings, videos, and installations that combine elements of multiple cultures and genres—he often portrays his personal struggle with conflicting aspects of his bicultural identity. Favrod’s images tend toward the fanciful and turn disturbing at times. Through them, Favrod borrows from the highly stylized compositions and visual drama of traditional Japanese prints and drawings, but his work is also informed by the conceptual practices of Western contemporary artists.
Favrod was selected as a FOAM Talent in 2015 and is the recipient of the 2013 Lens Culture Exposure Award, 2010 Aperture Portfolio Prize and has won the Swiss Design Award in 2010. His work is found in numerous public collections, among them Rome’s Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, the C/O Berlin, the Elysee Museum in Switzerland, and the collection of the Kunstmuseum in Thun also in Switzerland.
He received a Master’s Degree in Art Direction and a Bachelor’s in photography from the Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne.
Favrod has had solo and group exhibitions around the globe. He has shown at the C/O Berlin, the Deutsche Börse in Eschborn, the Aperture Foundation in New York, the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, the Houston Center for Photography, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto, the OCAT in Shanghai and Shenzhen, the Benaki Museum in Athens and the Kunstmuseum in Thun.
COLLECTIONS
Kunstmuseum Thun, Switzerland
C/O Berlin, Germany
MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma, Italy
Helvetia Art Collection, Switzerland
Photo Elysée, Switzerland
Fotostiftung Schweiz, Switzerland
Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
Luciano Benetton Foundation, Italy
DZ Bank Art Collection, Germany
City of Winterthur, Switzerland
Michaelis Galleries, Cap Town, South Africa
Aperture Foundation, USA (library)
Centre Pompidou, France (library)
Cneai=, France (library)
Fotostiftung Schweiz, Switzerland (library)
AWARDS
Winner, «The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2022, Awarded in 2023», Bern, Switzerland
Selected, «Talent Latent 2022», Tarragona, Spain
Shortlisted, «Prix Pictet 2021»
Grant Recipient, «Promotion des livres de photographie», Pro Helvetia, Switzerland
Winner, «Barcelona International Photography Award 2015», Barcelona, Spain
Selected, «FOAM Talent 2015», Amsterdam, Netherlands
Shortlisted, «FOAM Paul Huf Award 2015», Amsterdam, Netherlands
Winner, «Art Pro 2014», Sion, Switzerland
Winner, «Talents 2014», C/O Berlin, Germany
Winner, «Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2014», Lodz, Poland
Runner-up, «Renaissance Photography Prize 2014», London, UK
Finalist, «Voies Off 2014», Arles, France
Selected, «Tokyo International Photography Competition 2014», Tokyo, Japan
Grant Recipient, «Promotion de la relève», Pro Helvetia, Switzerland
Winner, «Lens Culture Exposure Award 2013», USA
Winner, «Project Launch Award 2013», Center, Santa Fe, USA
Selected, «Critical Mass 2013», USA
Selected, «28e Festival International de mode et photo 2013», Hyères, France
Selected, «Swiss Design Award 2013», Bern, Switzerland
Shortlisted, «FOAM Paul Huf Award 2013», Amsterdam, Netherlands
Finalist, «Burn Magazine’s Emerging Photographer Fund 2013»
Finalist, «Cord prize 2013», London, UK
Finalist, «EWZ 2013», Zurich, Switzerland
Selected, «Hey, Hot Shot 2012», New-York, USA
Selected, «Plat(t)form 2011», Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
Selected, «Wallpaper* Graduate directory 2011», London, UK
Winner, «Aperture Portfolio Prize 2010», New-York, USA
Winner, «Swiss Design Award 2010», Bern, Switzerland
Selected, «Regeneration2: Today’s Photographers Tomorrow», Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
Winner, «International Viewbook PhotoStory 2009», Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Winner, «Prix de Soutien à la Création 2009», Sion, Switzerland
Winner, «Work in Progress 2009», Les rencontres de la photographie Arles, France
Selected, «Wallpaper* Graduate directory 2009», London, UK
Selected, «International Talent Support, ITS8», Trieste, Italy
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books, Bibliothek Hauptpost, St.Gallen, Switzerland
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books, Museo Villa dei Cedri, Bellinzona, Switzerland
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books, Bibliothèque cantonale jurassienne, Porrentruy, Switzerland
The Most Beautiful Swiss Books, Helmhaus Zürich, Switzerland
2022
Talent Latent, International Photography Festival SCAN Tarragona, Spain
2021
Le Jardin Enchanté, Festival Alt.+1000, Switzerland
2020
Keeper of the Heart, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, USA
2019
Freunde Sammeln, Kunstmuseum, Thun, Switzerland
Unseen Photo Fair, Ibasho Gallery, Netherlands
2018
Embracing Diversity, Photo Vogue Festival, BASE Milano, Italy
Follow_Me : New Narratives in Contemporary Photography, OCAT, Shenzhen, China (with catalogue)
2017
ECAL-Dix ans à Renens, ELAC Gallery, Renens, Switzerland
Hikari, International Photography Festival Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel
You want it darker, The Garage, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Errance Blanche, Fotohaus, Arles, France
Follow_Me : New Narratives in Contemporary Photography, OCAT, Shanghai, China (with catalogue)
Trashes for hearts and people have no soul, Fotofestiwal 2017, Art Inkubator, Lodz, Poland
Aller-retour, Kunstmuseum, Thun, Switzerland
Hikari, Verzasca FOTO Festival, Sonogno, Switzerland
Future Tense, 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, United States
2016
Talents, Deutsche Börse AG, The Cube, Eschborn, Germany
Hikari, Verzasca FOTO Festival, Sonogno, Switzerland
Future Tense, 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, United States
Y’a pas le feu au lac, Kunst(zeug)Haus, Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland
FOAM Talent, London Photo Fair, London, UK
FOAM Talent, De Markten, Brussels, Belgium
2015
Talents, C/O Berlin, Amerika Haus, Berlin, Germany (with catalogue)
FOAM Talent, Atelier Néerlandais, Paris, France
Hikari, slide show, Just Another Photo Festival, Dehli, India
FOAM Talent, Unseen Photo Fair, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Die Neue Generation, Manoir de Martigny, Martigny, Switzerland (with catalogue)
Imago Mundi, Fondazione Cini, Venezia, Italy (with catalogue)
Hikari, Prix Photo 2015, Sotheby’s Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
Hikari, Tokyo International Photography 2014, Berlin, Germany
Reframe Memory, Athens Photo Festival 2015, the Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece (with catalogue)
Barcelona International Photography Award 2015, Valid Foto Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
Blast Off, Cross Mackenzie Gallery, Washington, USA
L’arbre, le bois, la forêt : lieux du mythe, du fantasme, de la peur, supports de l’imaginaire, Centre d’art contemporain de Meymac, France
2014
Die Neue Generation, Schützenläube, Viège, Switzerland (with catalogue)
ECAL Photography, Display Gallery, London, UK (with catalogue)
Rituels, Ferme-Asile, Sion, Switzerland (with catalogue)
Fotofestiwal, Month of Photography in Minsk, Minsk, Belarus
Beyond, Quad Gallery, Derby, UK
Renaissance Photography Prize, Getty Image Gallery, London, UK
Hikari, Mt.Rokko International Photo Festival, Kobe, Japan (with catalogue)
Hikari, Tokyo International Photography Competition 2014, United Photo industries HQ, New-York, United States
Hikari, Tokyo International Photography Competition 2014, 72 Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Hikari, Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d’Arles, Voies Off gallery, Arles, France
Photography Is Personal, curated by Arko Datto, Obscura Festival, Malaysia
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Landskrona Museum, Landskrona, Sweden (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Museum of Fine Arts, Yekaterinburg, Russia (with catalogue)
Finalists Voies Off, slide show, Voies Off Festival, Arles, France
Lens Culture Exposure Awards, slide show curated by Jim Casper, Voies Off Festival, Arles, France
Fotofestiwal, slide show, Voies Off Festival, Arles, France
Fotofestiwal, slide show, PhotoIrland Festival, Dublin, Irland
Raconte-moi, Ferme de la Chapelle Gallery, Lancy, Switzerland
Fotofestiwal, Art Inkubator, Lodz, Poland (with catalogue)
International Emerging Artist Award, Media One Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Hikari, Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival, Tbilisi, Georgia (with catalogue)
Material Self: Performing the Other Within, Scotiabank CONTACT photography festival, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCCA, Toronto, Canada (with catalogue)
Critical Mass, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, USA
Critical Mass, Corden/Potts Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Lens Culture Exposure Award, London College of Communications Gallery, London, UK
ECAL Photography, 10 Corso Como, Shanghai, China (with catalogue)
Do you speak touriste? Quand les photographes décodent le cliché, Pully Art Museum, Switzerland
Gaijin, slide show curated by Louise Clements, Circulations Festival 2014, Paris, France
ECAL Photography, Carla Sozzani Gallery, Milan, Italy
2013
Hikari, Stephan Witschi Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
Gaijin, Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Santa Fe, USA
There are more things, Exp/Exposure 12 Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Gaijin, La Petite Poule Noire Gallery, Paris, France
ECAL Photography, ELAC Gallery, Renens, Switzerland
ECAL Photography, Azzedine Alaïa Gallery, Paris, France
Gaijin, Mt.Rokko International Photo Festival, slideshow, Kobe, Japan (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today,Rosphoto, Saint-Petersburg, Russia (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today,Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, USA (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today,Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, USA (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Devos Art Museum, Marquette, Michigan, USA (with catalogue)
Swiss Photo Award, Photobastei, Zurich, Switzerland
The Flood Wall, slide show, Biennale de la photographie de Mulhouse, France
Swiss Design Awards, Art Basel / Design Miami 2013, Basel, Switzerland (with catalogue)
28e Festival International de mode et de photographie, Villa Noailles, Hyères, France (with catalogue)
Hey, Hot Shot, Jen Bekman Gallery, New-York, USA
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, USA (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Devos Art Museum, Marquette, Michigan, USA (with catalogue)
2012
Gaijin, John Schmid Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Gaijin, Crochetan Gallery, Monthey, Switzerland
Open Call, GuatePhoto Festival 2012, Guatemala City, Guatemala
THE YOUTH CODE! : Juvenilia Photogaphica, curated by Nathalie Herschdorfer, Daegu Photo Biennale 2012, Daegu, South Korea (with catalogue)
Made in..., Musée d’art du Valais, Sion, Switzerland
The Flood Wall, Exp12/Exposure 12 Gallery, slide show, Berlin, Germany
Obsessions, curated by Nathalie Herschdorfer, La Filature, Mulhouse, France
2011
Gaijin, Aperture Foundation, New-York, USA
Gaijin, Athens Photo Festival 2011 the Hellenic Centre for Photography, Athens, Greece (with catalogue)
Gaijin, Fotografia Festival 2011: Motherland the Pastificio Cerere Foundation, Roma, Italy (with catalogue)
Regards Contemporains, curated by Aperture Foundation, at MontBlanc, Paris, France
TET A TET 2, EX-EPA, Vevey, Switzerland (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Azzedine Alaïa Gallery, Paris, France (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Caochangdi PhotoSpring Festival, Beijin, China (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Aperture Foundation, New-York, USA (with catalogue)
Gaijin, Stimultania Gallery, Strasbourg, France
2010
Eden Roc, Museum of Bagnes, Bagnes, Switzerland (with catalogue)
Swiss Design Awards, Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Centre Gallery, Miami Dade College, Miami, USA (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italia (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today,Flash Forward Festival, Toronto, Canada (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Michaelis Galleries, Cap Town, South Africa (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, France (with catalogue)
ReGeneration2 : Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, Elysée Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland (with catalogue)
JungKunst, City Halle, Winterthur, Switzerland (with catalogue)
International Photography Award, SplashLight Studios, New-York, USA
La Montagne de Verre, Mauvoisin, Switzerland «C/D/DC» 22bis Gallery, Vevey, Switzerland
2009
Viewbook photostory winners, Kahmann Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Work in Progress 2009, Les rencontres internationales de la photographie, Arles, France
Kantonale Schaffensbeiträge im Bereich visuelle Kunst un Design, Zur Matze Gallery, Brig, Switzerland
International Talent Support, ITS8, Trieste, Italy